annual meeting 2015 minneapolis, mn · by lipps inc, “funky town”), minnesota, home of 10,000...

NAALNEWSLETTER

April 2014

From the President

From the President continued on page 2

Annual Meeting 2015Minneapolis, MNJanuary 1-4, 2014

Annual Meeting 2015Minneapolis, MNJanuary 1-4, 2014

Dear Friends and Colleagues in the Academy,The Spring Newsletter can mean only thing.

Your Academy Committee is busy working on next year’s meeting in Minneapolis (aka, the “MinneApple,” and, thanks to the 1979 R & B hit by Lipps Inc, “Funky Town”), Minnesota, home of 10,000 lakes, the land of sky blue waters, and where in summer the Mosquito is so omnipresent that we Minnesotans joke that it should be the “state bird.”

Minneapolis itself is a wonderful city, together with its equally wonderful twin city, Saint Paul. The “twin cities” boast several important churches, synagogues, art museums, theatres, concert stages, symphony orchestras, choral societies, colleges and universities along with a vibrant and ever increasing multicultural landscape. Indeed, the twin cities have emerged as a center for liturgical music and the arts. Although Christianity is dominant, with Lutherans and Roman Catholics in the majority due to its history of Scandanavian,

German, and Irish immigrants, there is also a long history of other religious traditions as well. In fact, Ashkenazi Jewish pioneers set up Saint Paul’s first synagogue in 1856.

The state of Minnesota, taking its name from the Dakota word for “clear water,” is described as being among the “healthiest states,” and claims a highly literate population. Minnesota is home, of course, to Saint John’s Abbey and University, just 90 miles or so northwest of the twin cities at the former railroad stop called “Collegeville,” from where came so many important figures in the Liturgical Movement in the United States, including, Benedictine monks Virgil Michel, Godfrey Diekmann, Michael Marx, Aelred Tegels, and Kevin Seasoltz, almost all of them members at one time or another of our academy. Saint John’s is also the home of Minnesota Public Radio, which is the very originator of National Public Radio.

We Minnesotans are also very proud of our state, but, as Garrison Kiellor reminds us, “not too proud,” because that might make us appear not

From the President, continued...Page 2 April 2014 - NAAL Newsletter

very nice and being “nice” (“Minnesota nice”) is the highest compliment a parent can receive about their children here and being “not nice,” or a “braggart,” the most negative, a lesson your current president learned in first grade from Ms. Tostenson.

So, what will be doing in Minnesota in the dead of

provost for undergraduate affairs, Chair of the Africana Studies Department, an Episcopal priest, poet, musician, photographer, martial artist, certified tennis professional, lead singer with the Oblates of Blues and Vice-President Don LaSalle’s boss at Notre Dame. “Hugh” will be speaking to us on biblical laments, the Blues, and the music of Minneapolis artist, Prince. I am anxious to see how that turns out.

Third, I could not be happier to announce that this year’s Berakah Award recipient will be our dear colleague, Professor Ruth Langer of Boston College. Ruth is professor of theology and a noted expert on Jewish Liturgy and Christian-Jewish relationships. Among her several authored and edited books

From the President continued on page 3

winter as 2014 turns to 2015? Several things. First, I am pleased to announce that in honor of our being in Minnesota, almost in the shadow of Collegeville, we will be presenting the Godfrey Diekmann, OSB, Award. This year’s Diekmann award will be presented to Fr. Virgilio Elizondo for his work in liturgical and ritual inculturation among Hispanic-Latinos in the United States. Virgil is well known to us in the Academy for his numerous books and articles on the cultural category of “mestizaje” and, of course, his work on the role of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Latino Catholicism. Equally important, he is known for his kind, gentle, and truly ecumenical spirit and was actually present

Fr. Virgilio Elizondo, Godfrey Diekmann recipient

at the original S c o t t s d a l e , Arizona, NAAL meeting now 51 years ago. It will be a great pleasure to honor him and his work in this way.

Second, our plenary speaker will be Professor Hugh Page, Jr., professor of Hebrew Bible, vicepresident and associate

Hugh Page, Jr., plenary speaker

are included Cursing the Christians? A History of the Birkat HaMinim (Oxford University Press, 2012) and To Worship God Properly: Tensions between Liturgical Custom and Halakhah in Judaism (Hebrew Union College Press, 2005). Ruth has served on the Academy Committee in the past and has been an active member of the Problems in the Early History of Liturgy

seminar for several years. Ruth accepted my phone call announcement of this award with her characteristic humility and profound thanks.

How are we going to do all of that, including having time for worship and our seminars? Easily, and, thanks to so many of your suggestions, we are going to conclude officially on Saturday night at the end of the banquet rather than at a breakfast and closing prayer on Sunday morning. Here’s how it will flow. Don LaSalle’s Vice-Presidential address, “The Poetics of Time,” will be given after the opening worship on Thursday night, Jan. 1. On Friday morning, Jan. 2, we will have a substantial breakfast during which the Diekmann award and a

Ruth Langer, Berakah recipient

April 2014 - NAAL Newsletter

2015 Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MNAs we begin the planning of the Annual

Meeting in Minneapolis, keep in the mind the following hotel information applies to the group this year.

• Hyatt Regency Minneapolis• Room Rates (rates good 12/31-1/6):

Single/Double $99Triple $129Quad $159Regency Club $149

• Complimentary Internet.• 30 rooms for retired members at $89

per night plus taxes.• All meeting space complimentary if

catering and room block minimum fulfilled.

2015 Meeting Budget, Fees and Expenses For the Minneapolis Annual Meeting, every

effort is being made to hold the meeting fee to the same level as past annual meetings. As soon as the AC has a definitive meeting fee, an announcement will be made so that you can plan for 2015 well in advance.

In recent years the AC has worked diligently

From the Meetings Managerto defray the cost of the meeting. For the past several years, World Library Publications, Liturgical Press, and No Grand Design have made in-kind gifts to the meeting. These gifts include printing, conference folders, and program design. The AC is grateful for their generous contributions. For 2015 the AC is exploring the option of using electronic tools to distrubute meeting materials.

In addition, the AC moved to cash bars for the social events. We will be pursuing all these options to help defray cost for the 2015 Annual Meeting. That being said, cost like food, beverage, AV, hotel service charges, tax and gratuity can add up fairly quickly. All the meeting space we use is free, due to our hotel room block and catering. Also, I am working on a Preferred Airline discount to help ease the cost of travel.

If you have any questions regarding the 2015 meeting please contact me at: [email protected].

I look forward to seeing all of you in Minneapolis.

Courtney MurtaughMeetings Manager

From the President, continued...

brief response will be given. As a result, a half hour will be added to our seminars on Friday, during which seminars might consider their own morning worship. The plenary address will be on Saturday, January 3 at 11:00am. Everything else will be as normal and several sidebar conversations are being planned for during lunch on Saturday. But, by concluding after the banquet on Saturday night, during which the Berakah Award and its response will be given, this also mean that for those who wish to take (and pay for) an optional excursion, buses will depart Sunday morning for Saint John’s Abbey for their Community Mass at 10:30.

So, we will have plenty of time to do what we always do at our academy meetings as we enjoy the warm hospitality of Minnesota in the cold of winter. Fort those able to arrive on December 31

plans are being made for some kind of New Year’s Eve celebration. On our free night, Friday, January 2, The Liturgical Press is planning to sponsor an optional event later in the evening, “The Bible and the Blues,” highlighting the Collegeville Bible with the Oblates of Blues. But, be forewarned. This event may get loud. The Oblates of Blues are not a Holiday Inn easy listening music lounge act, eine kleine Nachtmusik Ensemble, or Jazz group. This is an electric, hard rocking Blues Band. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z72RDWgJ3WE and https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Oblates-of-Blues/176658791997.

Finally, as we draw near again to the holy days of Passover (beginning on April 14) and Pascha (celebrated together on April 20 this year by East and West alike), may you all be filled with hope, joy, and, especially, peace.

Max JohnsonPresident

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z72RDWgJ3WEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z72RDWgJ3WEhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Oblates-of-Blues/176658791997.https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Oblates-of-Blues/176658791997.


From the Delegate for SeminarsThe reports from the seminar conveners for the

January 2014 Orlando meeting highlight several of the many remarkable aspects of the Academy seminars – the spirit of collegiality and hospitality, exceptional scholarly work, lively exchange of creative ideas and approaches, and conversations that point to the intersections between disciplines and between the academic and pastoral. The seminar work is truly a source of inspiration.

The amount of time allotted to seminar work this year was well-received. The plan for the 2015 meeting is to devote a similar amount of time to seminar work, tentatively 10 hours.

Twenty seminars met in January. The number of participants in each seminar varied, from less than ten to thirty plus. As we prepare to gather in Minneapolis, I will certainly work with the seminar conveners to determine each seminar’s meeting needs concerning size of the room, seating arrangement, and technology.

At the March meeting of the Academy Committee (“AC”), we discussed both compliments and concerns noted in the convener reports. We were already aware of some of the concerns; some of which are ongoing challenges. Below are a few responses to concerns raised:

Meeting Preparation A suggestion was made that seminar

conveners be permitted to update the content for each seminar on the NAAL web site. The AC appreciates the need to keep content as up-to-date as possible as close to the meeting as possible; however, providing the administrative rights needed to modify content on the Academy site to multiple people is not feasible. Alternatively, a tab will be created on the meeting blog that can easily be updated by seminar members.

Wireless Access NeedsA few seminars noted the need for wireless

access in the meeting rooms for more than one person. Wireless access at hotels is, unfortunately, complex. Pricing is different at every hotel and is usually contracted out to third party. Overall, it is an expensive service to provide for more than one person in all seminar meeting rooms. We will continue to do the best we can in

providing wireless access, while recognizing these constraints.

Seminar Structure and PresentationsAt least two seminars came together for

an interdisciplinary session, which prompted one seminar convener to suggest that such collaboration be encouraged. The AC certainly supports such efforts and encourages seminar conveners to consider taking the initiative to reach out to one another to determine whether a joint session would be desirable.

Concerns were noted about seminar members leaving their seminar to present papers in another seminar, and about a small number of members presenting the same paper in two different seminars. Regarding the first, it is certainly conceivable that on occasion, members might

Max Johnson delivering the 2014 Vice Presidential address in Orlando.

request or be asked to present a paper in a seminar other than their own, perhaps to further inter-disciplinary study and consideration. Such an opportunity seems appropriate and furthers the

collaborative nature of the Academy. Regarding the second named concern, the presentation of the same paper in two or more different seminars does not seem to serve the same purpose and the AC discourages this practice.

I am honored and grateful to have the opportunity to serve this Academy. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, suggestions or concerns.

Anne KoesterDelegate for Seminars

April 2014 - NAAL NewsletterPage 5

Contact Us... PresidentMax [email protected]

Vice PresidentDon [email protected]

TreasurerAnne [email protected]

SecretaryTroy [email protected]

Delegate for MembershipPaul [email protected]

New MembersThanks to all members who wrote letters and

supported our 18 candidates for membership this January meeting, and for welcoming them all so warmly at our business meeting in Orlando. I am grateful to serve you as the membership delegate for the academy.

If you are a member seeking to support a candidate, or if you are a visitor considering applying for membership, here are some basic guidelines.

First, visitors need to have attended two meetings of the NAAL to be considered for membership. You need not apply for membership after your second visit, as you can attend as a visitor for more than two years, but you must attend as a visitor for at least two meetings. Do not feel pressure to apply as a member until you have found a seminar that is a good fit for your gifts and interests.

Second, the Criteria for Membership are found on our website (http://www.naal-liturgy.org/membership/#criteria). Briefly, applicants need to meet two of the following three criteria:

• Have a doctoral degree in liturgy or a terminal degree in a related field.

• Hold a position in either the academy or in a religious community/organization in which you are contributing to the liturgical life of that tradition.

• Demonstrate commitment to liturgy and/or its related fields.

You can apply online as well as the membership application is available at http://www.naal-liturgy.org/membership/memberapp.html. Please send all of the required materials to me by September 15 at the very latest. Materials are welcome as soon as you can have them ready, and we will begin to review applications during the summer. If you have any further questions about the criteria or the process, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I am grateful to Christopher Grundy and Anne McGuire who have agreed to serve on the committee with me reviewing all the membership applications for this year once again.

I look forward to seeing you in Minneapolis.Paul Junggap Huh

Delegate for Membership

Delegate for SeminarsAnne [email protected]

Past PresidentMichael [email protected]

Past-Past PresidentCraig [email protected]

Meetings ManagerCourtney [email protected]

The NAAL websitewww.naal-liturgy.org

mailto:president%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=mailto:vicepresident%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=mailto:treasurer%40naal-liturgy.org%20?subject=mailto:secretary%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=mailto:membership%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=http://www.naal-liturgy.org/membership/memberapp.htmlhttp://www.naal-liturgy.org/membership/memberapp.htmlmailto:seminars%40naal-liturgy.org%20?subject=mailto:pastpresident%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=Inquiry%20from%20April%202014%20Newslettermailto:mailto:pastpastpresident%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=mailto:meetings%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=www.naal-liturgy.org

A MEMBERSHIP ROSTER may be downloaded from the members’ section of the NAAL web-site. Information on logging in as a member is included to members in the email that distrib-uted this Newsletter. Please contact the Secretary if your information is incorrect in the roster or you have trouble logging into the members section. [email protected]

Page 6 April 2014 - NAAL Newsletter

I am pleased to report that I have already received an inquiry about first-time visitor status. We invite first-time visitors to select three (3) seminars to attend over the course of their first meeting, so that they might discern which seminar is the best fit for them. Some visitors land in their first or second choice, feel very much at home, and do not move on to their second or third seminars. I will ask first-time visitors to please notify conveners of seminars if they decide not to attend. However, in the course of an annual meeting, this might be easier said than done. We will continue to communicate to first-time visitors that ours is a seminar-driven rather than a paper-driven academy. For some visitors, this is a new concept.

The question, “when should graduate students visit NAAL for the first time?” continues to be a concern. We have no set practice, and different graduate programs offer different guidance. Our web page and policies state:

for the first time. Some programs do not give the “green light” to come until the fourth semester of doctoral course work, others after course work is completed and students have begun work on the dissertation. We will continue to monitor the situation and respond to the situations of each visitor.

The deadline for applications for visitor status and for scholarships for the Minneapolis Meeting is November 1, 2014. Visitor and scholarship applications are available on the website: http://www.naal-liturgy.org/visitors. The past president makes decisions about visitor status; the scholarship committee, chaired by the past president, determines scholarship awards. If you have questions, please free to contact me at: [email protected].

Michael G. WitczakPast President

Visitors and Scholarships

“Visitor Status is granted to those applicants who currently possess or are near completion of the qualifications for membership.” Moreover, “visitor status may be granted no more than three times. Exceptions may be made for ‘student visitors’ who are not yet ready to apply for membership after three visits to the Academy’s Annual Meeting.” Perhaps these policies will assist graduate students and their advisors in deciding when to attend

2014 President Michael Witczak and Don Saliers presenting the Berakah award to Gil Ostdiek.

mailto:secretary%40naal-liturgy.org?subject=http://www.naal-liturgy.org/visitorsmailto:[email protected]


Banquet Donation and Membership RenewalAt the 2014 banquet in Orlando, NAAL members and visitors donated to identified charitable

causes, as is our custom. The $2,200 in donations were divided equally between Catholic Relief Services earmarked for typhoon relief in the Philippines and IDignity. IDignity is an organization in Central Florida which helps the disadvantaged members of the community obtain the personal identification documents that are necessary for them to gain self sufficiency.

Since the meeting Martin Seltz and I have been working to transition the treasurer’s duties over to me. I am very grateful for Martin’s willingness to continue to handle most of the duties until the AC meeting in Chicago in March where we were able to spend several hours going over the treasurer’s duties.

We still have 2014 dues outstanding from approximately 60 members. These dues can be paid via our website at https://www.events.org/creg.aspx?e=65149&m=10 or by check made payable to NAAL and mailed to me at 40 Macculloch Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960. Dues remain the same at $75. per member or $35. for those who are students, retired, or unemployed. As always we welcome donations for scholarships. Donations go to scholarship assistance for those attending the 2015 meeting.

Anne YardleyTreasurer
https://www.events.org/creg.aspx?e=65149&m=10

annual meeting 2015 minneapolis, mn · by lipps inc, “funky town”), minnesota, home of 10,000...

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